萬國法律事務所

The key amendments to Taiwan's Regulations of Leaves for Workers are summarized below.
 

1. Addition of Article 7, Paragraph 2
In response to Taiwan's aging population and declining birth rate, as well as the increasing need for workers to provide temporary care to family members, a new provision has been introduced.

Where a worker has exhausted the family care leave available under other applicable laws (e.g., the Gender Equality in Employment Act), they may apply for personal leave to care for a family member in person. Such leave may be taken on an hourly basis, as elected by the worker.


2. Amendment to Article 9
In line with the addition of Article 7, Paragraph 2, the amendment expressly stipulates that an employer may not adversely affect a worker's attendance bonus when personal leave is taken to personally care for a family member.

The amendment further clarifies that employers may deduct attendance bonuses on a pro rata basis according to the number of days of ordinary sick leave taken by a worker. This clarification aims to prevent employers from using attendance bonus schemes in a manner that discourages workers from taking sick leave.
 

3. Addition of Article 9-1
To prevent unfavorable treatment arising from employers' sick leave policies, a new provision stipulates that where a worker takes no more than 10 days of ordinary sick leave within a year, the employer may not impose any unfavorable treatment on the worker on the grounds of such sick leave.

Considering the difficulty for workers to produce evidence, the burden of proof is placed on the employer once the worker has made a prima facie showing of unfavorable treatment.

In addition, employers are required to conduct performance evaluations based on a comprehensive assessment of factors such as the worker's competence, work attitude, and actual performance, and may not rely solely on the number of days of ordinary sick leave taken.
 
Employers in Taiwan should promptly review and update their leave management policies and attendance bonus schemes to ensure compliance with the amended Regulations of Leaves for Workers. Violators may be subject to fines ranging from NT$20,000 to NT$1,000,000. Employer's work rules should also be amended in a timely manner to reflect changes in applicable laws and regulations, and, where revisions are made, should be submitted to the competent local authority for review and approval in accordance with the prescribed procedures.